


Red Balloons

by neko_fish



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-15
Updated: 2013-02-15
Packaged: 2017-11-29 08:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/685016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neko_fish/pseuds/neko_fish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was (finally) Leonard's day off and he planned on doing absolutely nothing at all. So with that in mind, the last thing he expected was to have a random stranger at the park run off with his heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Balloons

It was one of those rare occasions where he got a weekday off and Leonard McCoy planned on doing absolutely  _nothing_  at all. After covering for M’Benga over the weekend, he was given the Monday off, and he was going to sit his ass on the couch and watch TV. All. Day. Long.  
  
With the exception of getting up to take a piss and to grab leftovers from the fridge, he was extremely pleased with what a piece of lard he was being. Once he was out of leftovers, he glanced over at the pack of candy lying on the coffee table.  
  
He bought the snack for Joanna the other day so he probably shouldn’t touch it. After all, as her father, he was expected to lead by example and instil in her all the wisdom he had—and that included  _not_  stealing other people’s food.  
  
But then again, he also had to teach her about how sharing meant caring.  
  
And now was as good a time as ever to start on that lesson.  
  
Picking the box of candy up, he opened it up and popped one in his mouth, idly scanning the nutrition facts on the back of the package.  
  
 _‘23% of your daily fat intake? She should be **thanking**  me for prolonging her life. A minor cardiac arrest in a box is what this is—a delicious minor cardiac arrest in a box. I probably shouldn’t eat all of it…ah, fuck it. I’ll just buy her a new pack tomorrow if I have to.’_  
  
Thinking about Joanna, it was a miracle that he got full custody of her. After he caught Jocelyn cheating on him with her old flame, Clay Treadway, his then-wife casually thrust a couple pieces of paper into his hands and asked him to sign on the dotted line. She wanted a divorce and there was no room for discussion. She then made the bold statement that she either wanted all or nothing of their daughter. Now, Leonard had always been a believer in compromise and fairness, but when presented with such black and white options, for the first time since they met, something in him snapped.  
  
 _“Well, since you put the ball in my court, Joce, I guess **I’ll** be taking our daughter then,” _he had said with more calmness than he felt. With their jaws agape, Jocelyn and Clay had obviously been expecting a different reaction from him. She began to protest but he cut her off,  _“ **No** , Joce. Half of those genes are  **mine**. You want a divorce? You can have your damn divorce! You can even take the whole goddamn house if you want! But there is no way in hell I’m letting you walk away forever with  **my**  baby girl.  **You’re**  the one who wanted all or nothing —so congrats, you get nothing. Have a nice life.”_  
  
And that was that.  
  
They both knew that he would’ve accepted negotiations for partial custody if only for the sake of making sure that his daughter had a mother figure around. But being the prideful woman she was, Jocelyn pulled her lips into a taut line, turned around and left. Sure, she took everything he ever owned with her, but it was a price he was more than willing to pay to keep Joanna by his side.  
  
Leonard never heard from Jocelyn again ever since.  
  
As proud as he was for how well he took the whole ordeal, it still  _hurt_. Three years had gone by already, but the thought of having caught those two in  _his_ bed in  _his_  house still left a bitter taste in his mouth.  
  
After they moved away, Leonard ended up telling his daughter something about how her mother loved her very much but she had to leave for something important. At one point, he contemplated fabricating a story about Jocelyn being a secret agent or a superhero but that would’ve been giving her way too many positive attributes than he thought was believable.  
  
 _‘Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope. It’s just super bitch,’_ he thought to himself with a snort as he ate another piece of chocolate.  _‘Shut up, I’m not bitter at all.’_  
  
Idly flipping through channels, in the end, he settled on  _Star Trek: The Next Generation._ Star Trek was a popular soap opera that took place in space, and it was, as far as he was concerned,  _completely_  unrealistic. But everyone seemed to absolutely  _love_ it for some reason _._ There was even a name for all the diehard fans of the show: Trekkies. It was currently on its second series and wasn’t likely to stop there. The only reason he knew all this because his coworkers were proud Trekkies—although he had no idea how they managed to find the time to watch the damn show.  
  
When he reached for more candy, he discovered that he had run out. Shaking the empty box in dismay, he scowled and chucked it back onto the coffee table. “Dammit! Who designs these things? How’s anyone supposed to be satisfied with only 50 grams? Shit, they’re addicting…I wonder if the store will sell them to me in bulk?”  
  
Too lazy to get up to raid the pantry, he decided to stay put, half sprawled out on the couch like the piece of lard he felt like. Occasionally, he would yell at the characters on TV because— _dammit, don’t talk to him! That’s your Betazoid half-brother! How is this happening!? Androids can’t have sex! My god, whose baby are you carrying? Come on, just tell me!  I’ve got work tomorrow! What do you mean you suddenly developed acute amnesia and forgot!?_  
  
At one point, Leonard thought about Christine Chapel, his head nurse (and a proud Trekkie), and how she wanted to get him back out into the dating world. He snorted at the very idea. It’d been far too long since he even  _attempted_  to socialize with real people. What could he even say to a complete stranger?  _‘Hello. What I do during my free time? Oh, well, let me tell **you**. On my days off, I like to sit at home, eat my daughter’s candy and yell at soap opera characters on TV. Very attractive, right-’_  
  
His self-abusive thoughts were interrupted by the TV. “What? What do you mean he’s your very handsome, gentle and sensitive ex-lover who had a blooming career but suddenly developed a rare alien disease so you left him for the Klingon bad boy with a heart of gold who suddenly appeared in space one day!? Don’t fade to black, dammit! I need to know who the father is! Fuck! What do you mean there isn’t a new episode after this!? Goddamn it, Star Trek! You can’t do this to me!”  
  
Minutes after his embarrassing outburst, the door opened and his favourite voice in the world called out, “Daddy, I’m home!”  
  
Forcing himself up off the couch, Leonard turned the television off and made his way to the front door. “Hey, darlin’. How was school today?”  
  
“It was good,” came the happy reply.  
  
“Did you do anything interesting today…?” Raising a brow at the sight of bobbing red balloons tied to his daughter’s wrist, he asked, “What’s with the balloons? Was there a carnival or something?”  
  
She handed him her backpack and wandered into the living room with a smile. “Miss Gaila taught us something really cool today! I’ll show it to you but we’ll have to go to the park first.”  
  
Taking her lunchbox out and hanging the pack up, he left the little plastic box on the counter to follow his daughter into the other room. “Oh? What’d she teach you and why do we need to go to the park?”  
  
Joanna looked around the room and frowned. “Daddy, did you eat all my candy?”  
  
“Yeah, I did. Sorry, darlin’. I’ll get you a new pack tomorrow,” he offered guiltily.  
  
“You should’ve asked me first, daddy. I would’ve shared,” she chided him.  
  
 _‘Great, my adolescent daughter’s a better person than me.’_  
  
Avoiding further eye contact out of guilt, Leonard quickly changed the subject. “So did you want to go to the park now or after supper?”  
  
Distracted, Joanna perked up. “Oh! Can we go now, please? We’ll need to bring a marker with us. I have a couple in my backpack! I’ll show you what Miss Gaila taught us today!”  
  
Not wanting to give her a chance to remember how he ate all her candy, he quickly agreed, “Alright, darlin’, just give me a minute to get changed.”  
  
\--  
  
Ten minutes later, they were at the park. Joanna stood there with a cheery smile on her face and a pair of helium-filled red balloons tied to her wrists. Leonard stood beside her, with one pocket full of his keys and wallet and the other stuffed with markers, looking a little less pleased. Glancing down at his daughter, he began, “Well, here we are. So what did Miss Gaila teach you at school today?”  
  
Handing one of the balloons over to him, she instructed him, “Here, daddy. Take this. And then take one of the markers and write your name on the balloon.”  
  
After doing what he was told, Leonard capped the marker and turned his attention back to Joanna.  Curiously, he asked, “Alright. What now?”  
  
Returning her marker back into his pant pocket, she hugged the balloon to her chest. “Now you fill it with all your thoughts and when you’re done, we’ll let it go together, okay? Miss Gaila says we’re supposed to put our hearts into these balloons and let them go. It might make your sadness go away.”  
  
“My sadness?” he repeated a little warily.  
  
Joanna nodded. “You’re still sad about mommy leaving, aren’t you? I think you’re sad about a lot of things, daddy. This will cheer you up!”  
  
He had mixed feelings about the situation. On the one hand, he was touched and proud to be this amazing and compassionate child’s father, but on the other, he was panicked at the idea that she noticed his negativity.  
  
 _‘Oh god, she noticed. **Shit** , she **noticed**. Now she’s going to grow up with psychological issues and it’ll probably start showing up when she’s a brooding teenager. She’s probably going to end up becoming one of those ‘ **goth** ’ kids or an ‘ **emo’**  or—fuck, what if she joins a  **gang** and gets herself arrested? Hopefully she’ll still be a minor so her record will be wiped when she’s old enough. Jesus Christ, she’ll have to see a therapist. And when they examine her, they’re going to trace all her issues back to her childhood and this very moment and they’ll know I traumatized her for life by being so damn depressing.’_  
  
“Daddy, you’re thinking really loudly again.”  
  
“Sorry, Jo.” Leonard smiled tightly at her and tried to calm himself down.  
  
 _‘Please don’t join a gang when you grow up, please don’t join a gang when you grow up, please don’t-’_  
  
Joanna frowned worriedly at him. “Are you okay, daddy?”  
  
“I’m fine, Jo,” he reassured her. “It’s just that I’m really not that sad about your mother leaving anymore, you know?”  
  
She shrugged. “Then you can fill it with happy thoughts about work or angry thoughts about the dog next door.”  
  
“That dog is a nuisance.” He sighed in defeat. “Fine, let’s do this.”  
  
Staring at the red balloon with furrowed brows, Leonard thought about Jocelyn, a couple of his patients who needed to be closely monitored, his terrible work schedule, how much he loved Joanna and how much he  _didn’t_  want her to join a gang when she grew up. He thought about how frustrating it was, knowing that he won’t be at home to find out who the damn father of the child was.  
  
When he finally finished unloading all his thoughts and feelings (mostly annoyance and anxiety) into the inflated piece of rubber, he looked up from the balloon and found Joanna watching him. “Did you put your whole heart into the balloon, daddy?”  
  
He nodded. “Yeah, I think I got it all.”  
  
She smiled. “Good. Are you ready to let it go? We’ll do it together on the count of three. One…two…three!”  
  
The two of them let go of the balloons and watched as a gust of wind blew them away. Strangely enough, he did feel better—that is, until his balloon caught a freak downdraft and got its string tangled in the branches of a small tree. Caught between laughing and crying, he settled for looking upwards and heaving a sigh.  
  
 _‘Yeah, that seems about right.’_  
  
Joanna, on the other hand, looked absolutely horrified. “Oh my gosh, daddy, your heart got stuck! We’ve got to go get it out!”  
  
“Right behind you, darlin’,” he reassured her as she began making her way over to the tree. On the way, he thought about how accurate his daughter’s words were.  
  
 _‘My heart’s stuck…in a tree. Well, isn’t that just fan-goddamn-tastic? Maybe it’s karma for eating Jo’s candy earlier.’_  
  
When they reached the tree, they found that someone had beaten them to the punch. A man had gotten the balloon down and was currently studying it curiously. Before Leonard could stop his daughter, she called out to the stranger, “Careful with that, mister! That’s my daddy’s heart you’re holding!”  
  
Leonard wanted to go hide behind something and disappear.  
  
Now.  
  
Hand reaching down for his pager, he wondered why the hospital never paged him with an emergency when he wanted them to.  
  
“What?” Clearly confused, the man blinked at them a couple times with the balloon still in his hands. “This is your dad’s heart? Is he  _‘Leonard McCoy_ ’ then?”  
  
 _‘Don’t answer him, don’t answer him, don’t answer him, don’t answer him-’_  
  
Joanna nodded decisively. “That’s right! He’s  _Doctor_  Leonard McCoy! He fixes people’s broken bones! And that’s his heart you’ve got in your hands!”  
  
 _‘-dammit! Aren’t they supposed to teach kids stranger danger at school?’_  
  
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Leonard shook his head. “It’s alright, darlin’.”  
  
“But how will you get over mommy leaving?” she asked him with wide, imploring eyes.  
  
That was the last thing he wanted the stranger to know about him. Crouching down, Leonard spoke in his best ‘life lesson’ tone of voice, “It’s been years, Jo. I’m over it.” Then he sighed. “Look, why don’t you go play with the other kids at the park while I talk to this nice man here into giving me back my…heart.”  
  
It took a lot of effort, but he managed to say it.  
  
Joanna stared at him for a long moment before nodding obediently. “Okay, I’ll be at the jungle gym then.” Then turning to the stranger, she told him pointedly, “You better not pop my daddy’s heart!”  
  
“I promise I won’t pop your dad’s heart,” the man replied solemnly.  
  
 _‘God, this is so embarrassing.’_  
  
After she disappeared, the man gave him a quick once over and began slowly with a slight smile on his lips, “So I’ve got your heart in my hands, do I, Doctor Leonard McCoy—O’mighty fixer of broken bones?”  
  
Leonard rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, according to my daughter, you do. Can you give it back now…?”  
  
“Jim Kirk,” the other offered. “You can just call me Jim.”  
  
Kirk…the name sounded familiar but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it.  
  
Then Jim blinked and asked, “Why do you have markers in your pocket?”  
  
Leonard shrugged. “Because I have a kid. Now then,  _Jim_. You mind handing me back that balloon?”  
  
Jim spared a moment to look thoughtful before shaking his head. “No. I think I’ll keep it. It isn’t every day that I get to rescue someone’s heart from a big bad tree. And I must say, I rather like having an attractive doctor’s heart in my hands.”  
  
He raised a brow. “Was that a come on?”  
  
“Yes. Ten points to you for picking up on that.” Jim grinned teasingly at him. “Don’t worry, doc, I promise I’ll take utmost care of your heart.”  
  
Gritting his teeth, Leonard scowled. “Dammit, Jim, stop being such an infant and give it back already!”  
  
Blue eyes lit up. “ _Ooh_ , I like the way you said my name there.”  
  
Leonard crossed his arms and huffed, trying his best to suppress his blush. “Good god, man, I don’t have time for this.”  
  
Smile never faltering, Jim asked, “What’s the hurry? Going home to watch Star Trek reruns?”  
  
“Maybe,” he replied stiffly.  
  
Jim shot him a sympathetic look. “You better be careful, doc. That show’s so addicting it’s ridiculous. I remember when I was sick from work for a couple days and decided to check it out—it was The Original Series that got me. I have the whole thing on Blu-ray at home, and I can pretty much recite everything word for word now…and I may or may not occasionally get into debates with people about different aspects of the show. I guess that makes me a bit of a Trekkie.”  
  
“I just started watching the show today,” Leonard admitted reluctantly. Then he quickly added, “It’s not like I particularly like it or anything though. I just want to know is who the damn father is, but I’ve got work tomorrow.”  
  
“Well, I’ve been recording all the episodes of The Next Generation,” Jim began slowly. “I usually catch up on the series over the weekend, so if you have time….” Never letting go of the balloon, he began digging through his pockets and wallet until he came across a scrap piece of paper. Then grabbing a marker from the doctor’s pocket (and ignoring the protest that followed the action), he scribbled something onto it and handed it back. “Look, here’s my number. No pressure or anything—but call me.”  
  
Leonard’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the piece of paper. “Is it a habit of yours to loiter around this park and hit on unsuspecting people? Because I feel like I should be calling the police right now.”  
  
Jim threw his head back and laughed. It was a little loud but so damn rich and melodious. And the way his smile lit up those gorgeous blue eyes—Leonard mentally slapped himself for getting so distracted by the man.  
  
 _‘Focus, McCoy! Stop dicking around and get your damn heart back already!’_  
  
Still chuckling to himself, Jim shook his head. “I only do it to hot, unsuspecting single fathers whose hearts get stuck in trees. But no, I don’t actually come here that often. I’m dog-sitting for a friend right now—Keenser. He’s this little guy, adorable as fuck, but so damn disobedient it’s enough to drive you bananas. And he climbs onto  _everything_! I don’t know how he does it, but he climbs really well and onto the strangest things. You should’ve seen him on my fridge this morning.”  
  
Scanning around to see which dog the man was talking about, Leonard only barely managed to suppress his urge to smirk as he pointed into the distance. “You mean that one there? You definitely weren’t joking about his climbing abilities. It looks like he’s trying to mount a Great Dane.”  
  
Blue eyes widened as Jim looked over at the direction he was pointing to. Immediately grabbing the leash from his pocket, Jim began running over to where the canine sexual harassment was taking place. “Holy fuck, Keenser! How’d you even get up there!? Don’t you dare hump that dog! Scotty’s going to kill me if something happens to you!” Then sparing a glance back, he yelled out, “Call me, okay, Bones!?”  
  
Leonard wrinkled his nose at the nickname. “ _Bones_? Well, that’s a little morbid, don’t you think?” Then he realized something. “Dammit, Jim! You still have my heart!”  
  
But it was too late and Jim was already preoccupied with separating the dogs. Not wanting to get involved with dogs—and their rabies, and their lyme disease, and their worms, and etc.—he stuffed the piece of paper and marker back into his pocket and made his way over to the jungle gym.  
  
Joanna immediately ran to his side and asked him, “Did you get your heart back, daddy?”  
  
He shook his head. “No. Sorry, darlin'. He ran off with it.”  
  
Her eyes widened. “He  _stole_  your heart!? Should we go get it back? I can’t believe that happened!”  
  
 _‘I can’t believe it either, Jo. Let’s recap how ridiculous this little trip to the park's been: my heart got stuck in a tree, and then it got unstuck by one Jim Kirk who then decided to keep it and ran off with it because he had to go stop a small dog from humping a dog that’s the size of a horse….’_  
  
Leonard couldn’t help but laugh at how bizarre the whole situation was. “I wouldn’t worry about it, darlin’. Let’s just go home. It’s almost supper time anyways. What would you like to eat tonight?”  
  
\--  
  
After dinner, he went to his computer and Googled Jim Kirk's name.  
  
His jaw went slack.  
  
Turned out, James Tiberius Kirk was the biggest managing partner at  _Enterprise,_ which was  _only_  the biggest law firm around. It was full of famous lawyers like Nyota Uhura, Mr. Spock, Montgomery Scott, Hikaru Sulu, and the prodigy who was steadily making his way up the ladder, Pavel Chekov.

Last year, Kirk took over for Pike and managed to win a huge case against Narada which earned him the top spot at the Enterprise.  
  
 _‘Well, at least I know why his name sounded so familiar now. Fuck me…my heart got nabbed by the Enterprise’s Golden Boy? It **definitely** would've never worked out.’_  
  
He didn’t have too much time to contemplate it because a minute later, his pager went off and he got called in for an emergency surgery.  
  
\--  
  
Leonard tried so hard to get Jim Kirk out of his mind. He even  _thought_ about going to a yoga class to calm his nerves. But after several days of fruitless attempts, he finally gave up. For the sake of his own sanity, he dug out the piece of paper he had hidden away in his desk drawer and stared at it indecisively. Several inutes went by before he snorted. “Stop being so stupid, McCoy. Just call him and get the humiliation over with, you idiot.”  
  
Punching the numbers into his phone, he gradually slowed to a halt as his finger lingered over the ‘Call’ button. Squeezing his eyes shut, he let his thumb fall on the big, foreboding green oval. Holding the phone up to his ear, he waited through two whole rings before deciding that it was a dumb idea and he really shouldn’t have gone through with it in the first place.  
  
But before he could hang up, someone on the other end picked up.  _“Hello, Jim Kirk speaking.”_  
  
With his brain jumping out the nearest window, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind: “Give me back my heart, you damn thief!”  
  
There was a pause and Leonard tried his best not to panic and hang up on the man.  
  
Then the voice replied happily,  _“Bones! I knew you’d call! Your heart’s safe and sound like I promised! It’s happy, unharmed and unpopped.”_  
  
He could practically  _hear_  the grin in the other’s voice and scowled. “That’s not my name! And give it back!”  
  
 _“No can do. I’m the one who got it unstuck, remember? Besides, I think it’s happy here with me. Isn’t that right, Bones’ Heart?”_ Then in a high pitch voice, Jim continued,  _“’That’s right, Jim! I love it here just ever so much! Please don’t ever make me leave!’”_  
  
Leonard tried his best not to smile as he rolled his eyes. “You’re unbelievable.”  
  
 _“Careful, Bones, you almost sound like you enjoy talking to me.”_  
  
He immediately snorted. “Like hell I do.”  
  
 _“That’s what I thought you’d say,”_ was the jaunty reply. _“So did you watch the new episodes of Star Trek yet?”_  
  
Leonard huffed in annoyance. “ _No_. I still don’t know who the father is, and I can’t find it online. The damn internet hates me.”  
  
 _“Awesome! Not the internet hating you part, but I haven’t watched the new episodes yet either since I’ve been waiting for you to call. Are you free Saturday afternoon?”_  
  
He tried his best to keep his weekends free for Joanna’s sake. “If I don’t get called in, but-”  
  
Jim cut him off before he could finish his sentence,  _“Great! Let’s meet at the café on Robson and Burrard at say…eleven? It’s called Starfleet Café. We can have brunch, or lunch, or whatever you want before catching up on the episodes. Bring your kid! It’ll be fun!”_  
  
Leonard narrowed his eyes. “Dammit, Jim, I am  _not_  allowing my daughter to get addicted to a soap opera.”  
  
He could practically see Jim smiling excitedly on the other side.  _“Fine. Then after lunch, I’ll get Uhura and Spock to keep her entertained, how about that? She can have a new, cool big sister figure to look up to! Uhura loves kids—probably! Your kid can hang out with a couple big-shot lawyers and learn all sorts of cool, lawyer-y things from them! I promise she’ll have fun. Hey, maybe she can teach Spock how to feel! I swear the man’s half Vulcan. So I’ll see you two on Saturday?”_  
  
Giving in, Leonard chuckled. “Cocky bastard, aren’t you?”  
  
 _“It’s how I managed to get your heart in my hands, Bones.”_  
  
\--  
  
Three years later, while pillaging through Jim’s drawer for a working pen, Leonard stumbled upon a deflated red balloon with the name ‘Leonard McCoy’ written on it—still safe and unpopped. Studying it for a moment, he snorted in amusement and returned it to its original place. “I can’t believe he actually kept it.”  
  
Then a voice spoke up from behind him, “I promised you that I’d take utmost care of it, didn’t I? What can I say? I’m a man of my word.”  
  
Turning around with his arms crossed, Leonard scowled half-heartedly. “A damn thief is what you are.”  
  
Jim grinned. “Yeah, I’m that too. You’ll get over it someday.” In a more serious voice, he added, “When I first saw you at the park, I just…'I wanted to show you such tenderness.'”  
  
Leonard frowned, unimpressed. “Did you really just throw a Star Trek quote at me?”  
  
The smile returned to Jim’s lips. “Yes. Another ten points to you for picking up on that.” Then taking Leonard’s hand, he began pulling him out of the room. “Now come on, the popcorn’s done. Are you ready to catch up on your favourite show in the world, Bones?”  
  
Closing the drawer, he huffed. “It’s not my favourite show. I just want to find out whether or not that ensign dies.”  
  
Jim nodded slowly, teasingly. “Yes, yes, you’re not a Trekkie at all—just like how we  _didn’t_  go to that convention a couple months ago, right? Let’s hurry it up. Jojo’s due back in a couple hours. Are we going to go watch that show you’re not particularly fond of or what?”  
  
Rolling his eyes, Leonard closed his hand around Jim’s and allowed himself to get dragged out of the room.


End file.
